Well after almost 2 years the team at Custom Offroad and most of my Buggy mates to boot have finally completed what has proven to be the most complicating Buggy build I have even managed.
In short the Iguana Buggy is now done and will be heading south on tour tomorrow. So if you see it on the road give it a wave. More details and videos will follow once we have finished shooting the promo for an upcoming TV show ...
Like most projects of this size it would never have happened without my mates and for that I not only take my hate off but extend a very large heartfelt THANKS....
I must also apologise to all the customers I fogged off to get the job done, I appreciate your patience.
In no particular order the following people need special mention as without them it would never have happened:
Andrew – awesome sheet metal work, making the box’s from hell
Dave – Barwork and fab that is beyond reproach, a 103L fuel tank on a buggy says it all, not to mention all those bells and whistles.
Jarred – paint and body styling I could only dream of
Nick – shaping those curves did awesome things to the image
Rod – made the best soft top and trim I have ever seen on a buggy
Pete – All that spanner work and he never even scratched it
Wes - for all those cool drawings and keeping my crazy ideas in check
Terry – without doing all those late nights it would never have made it across the line
And last and most importantly my loving wife Jen, any woman that can put up with being neglected for that long without divorcing me deserves here Iguana Leaving gift…
Buggy On !!!!
65busser ·
That's TRICK! Love it. Want one. How much? Standing ovation. Looks like it's alive!!
[ Edited on 20-4-2007 by 65busser ]
Craig Torrens ·
needs more spotlights😀😀
Hats off to Jen :beer
makntracks ·
looking great dont think that any one could posibly imagine the hours that brad and others has put into this. looks awsome.
mick..
The_Bronze. ·
Where do I place my order 😉
*kidding*
Looks great. Would love to have a closer look. In the mean time have you got a pic of the back, trim and interior please Brad. Love the tools down the side. Definitely looks to mean business.
Three cheers to all involved.
With the Quality of Buggy Companies we have here in Australia soon were going to be getting into export when the neighbors check out what were getting around in.
[ Edited on 21-4-2007 by The_Bronze. ]
pete wood ·
awesome stuff brad. 👍
speedster356 ·
Spotted in Coogee today.:thumb
Hellequin ·
What a shame, Brad, that you didn't have either the courtesy or kindness to recognise that without this order from ME to build this machine for my TV program, you would never have gotten it to the stage its at now - or even finished!
… Or that what you are now touting as all your own creation is actually MY vehicle with all the amendments that "I" requested and paid for you to develop as required for my shooting needs.
What YOU supplied was the original concept, running gear and usual base-buggy stuff… (Which IS good – otherwise I wouldn’t have ordered it).
However what I supplied you with were all the other design details – such as camo-paintwork, tonneau style and colour, and so many OTHER accessories concepts and finishing details - the light bar, winch requirement etc. etc. (Remember – there IS correspondence to prove this).
What YOU were offering to me originally had only a small percentage of the bling and shutzpah that I commissioned you to create for ME for the purposes of my TV program.
So – credit, please, where credit is due: without my ideas and pushing you to do it - PLUS financing you for the privilege, your “IGUANA” would be a VERY pale version of this current iteration.
What an equal shame that you don't either have the decency to acknowledge my copyright on photography where they have been used.
Finally - for those readers who are interested - and if there is an element of disgust in the following it is purposely so - it should be known that on my taking delivery of this vehicle during April 2007 (after a year + in the making!) - the lights were all wrongly wired, the brakes squealed (with no solution offered), the engine kept cutting out - and no-one knew what the problem was, the Starter Motor packed-in, the exhaust pipe fell off, the fuel gauge was a joke, the tonneau zips failed and.... WHERE WAS BRAD whenever I tried to call him to get some action...???
NOWHERE. Neither answering his 'phone nor his mails. He’d gone AWOL with no forwarding address.
It took me another THIRTEEN MONTHS after re-delivering it to his workshop in Brisbane in May 2007 before I was able to finally get it in a condition to be driven out.
OK - fairness where fair is due: 9 months of that was "supposedly" because the dossier was in with the QLD. RTA for Type Approval. And then Brad sold out his personal interests in the company - as I hear - to some other people who did what they could.
… And for the record the current asking price of AU$45,000 is only slightly less than what I paid as a commissioning fee to have the buggy built in the first place – including all the accessories, design concepts etc...
If I sound pissed-off, it’s because I am. It is, according to MY experience and judgement, such good-intentioned but rankly inefficient people as this - running so-called “professional” businesses in a thoroughly amateur manner - who have given Buggies a bad name in general by being so incredibly “lightweight” in their attitude...
If you, dear Reader disagree, then ask yourself this: if YOU had ordered a buggy, paid a hefty deposit up-front, and then - when the company was patently going belly-up - NOT insisted on a refund - then took delivery to find so much wrong on it - and following which you couldn't even get hold of the company owner, how would YOU have felt...??
Please feel free to contact me at any time on majordom@monaco.net if you would like more information about my own dealings with this company or about the genesis of the IGUANA project and our TV programs’ involvement in its furtherance.
Brian ·
Hellequin wrote:What a shame, Brad, that you didn't have either the courtesy or kindness to recognise that without this order from ME to build this machine for my TV program, you would never have gotten it to the stage its at now - or even finished!
… Or that what you are now touting as all your own creation is actually MY vehicle with all the amendments that "I" requested and paid for you to develop as required for my shooting needs.
What YOU supplied was the original concept, running gear and usual base-buggy stuff… (Which IS good – otherwise I wouldn’t have ordered it).
However what I supplied you with were all the other design details – such as camo-paintwork, tonneau style and colour, and so many OTHER accessories concepts and finishing details - the light bar, winch requirement etc. etc. (Remember – there IS correspondence to prove this).
What YOU were offering to me originally had only a small percentage of the bling and shutzpah that I commissioned you to create for ME for the purposes of my TV program.
So – credit, please, where credit is due: without my ideas and pushing you to do it - PLUS financing you for the privilege, your “IGUANA” would be a VERY pale version of this current iteration.
What an equal shame that you don't either have the decency to acknowledge my copyright on photography where they have been used.
Finally - for those readers who are interested - and if there is an element of disgust in the following it is purposely so - it should be known that on my taking delivery of this vehicle during April 2007 (after a year + in the making!) - the lights were all wrongly wired, the brakes squealed (with no solution offered), the engine kept cutting out - and no-one knew what the problem was, the Starter Motor packed-in, the exhaust pipe fell off, the fuel gauge was a joke, the tonneau zips failed and.... WHERE WAS BRAD whenever I tried to call him to get some action...???
NOWHERE. Neither answering his 'phone nor his mails. He’d gone AWOL with no forwarding address.
It took me another THIRTEEN MONTHS after re-delivering it to his workshop in Brisbane in May 2007 before I was able to finally get it in a condition to be driven out.
OK - fairness where fair is due: 9 months of that was "supposedly" because the dossier was in with the QLD. RTA for Type Approval. And then Brad sold out his personal interests in the company - as I hear - to some other people who did what they could.
… And for the record the current asking price of AU$45,000 is only slightly less than what I paid as a commissioning fee to have the buggy built in the first place – including all the accessories, design concepts etc...
If I sound pissed-off, it’s because I am. It is, according to MY experience and judgement, such good-intentioned but rankly inefficient people as this - running so-called “professional” businesses in a thoroughly amateur manner - who have given Buggies a bad name in general by being so incredibly “lightweight” in their attitude...
If you, dear Reader disagree, then ask yourself this: if YOU had ordered a buggy, paid a hefty deposit up-front, and then - when the company was patently going belly-up - NOT insisted on a refund - then took delivery to find so much wrong on it - and following which you couldn't even get hold of the company owner, how would YOU have felt...??
Please feel free to contact me at any time on majordom@monaco.net if you would like more information about my own dealings with this company or about the genesis of the IGUANA project and our TV programs’ involvement in its furtherance.
🤪
Brian ·
awesome stuff Brad
Tim Andrews ·
Ouch..Still looks awesome.
MikeM ·
Choosing colours, asking for spolights, and requesting a winch is definitely the hardest part of building a buggy.
silver ·
Hmmm Will that reply be deleted
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
Hellequin wrote:What a shame, Brad, that you didn't have either the courtesy or kindness to recognise that without this order from ME to build this machine for my TV program, you would never have gotten it to the stage its at now - or even finished!
… Or that what you are now touting as all your own creation is actually MY vehicle with all the amendments that "I" requested and paid for you to develop as required for my shooting needs.
What YOU supplied was the original concept, running gear and usual base-buggy stuff… (Which IS good – otherwise I wouldn’t have ordered it).
However what I supplied you with were all the other design details – such as camo-paintwork, tonneau style and colour, and so many OTHER accessories concepts and finishing details - the light bar, winch requirement etc. etc. (Remember – there IS correspondence to prove this).
What YOU were offering to me originally had only a small percentage of the bling and shutzpah that I commissioned you to create for ME for the purposes of my TV program.
So – credit, please, where credit is due: without my ideas and pushing you to do it - PLUS financing you for the privilege, your “IGUANA” would be a VERY pale version of this current iteration.
What an equal shame that you don't either have the decency to acknowledge my copyright on photography where they have been used.
Finally - for those readers who are interested - and if there is an element of disgust in the following it is purposely so - it should be known that on my taking delivery of this vehicle during April 2007 (after a year + in the making!) - the lights were all wrongly wired, the brakes squealed (with no solution offered), the engine kept cutting out - and no-one knew what the problem was, the Starter Motor packed-in, the exhaust pipe fell off, the fuel gauge was a joke, the tonneau zips failed and.... WHERE WAS BRAD whenever I tried to call him to get some action...???
NOWHERE. Neither answering his 'phone nor his mails. He’d gone AWOL with no forwarding address.
It took me another THIRTEEN MONTHS after re-delivering it to his workshop in Brisbane in May 2007 before I was able to finally get it in a condition to be driven out.
OK - fairness where fair is due: 9 months of that was "supposedly" because the dossier was in with the QLD. RTA for Type Approval. And then Brad sold out his personal interests in the company - as I hear - to some other people who did what they could.
… And for the record the current asking price of AU$45,000 is only slightly less than what I paid as a commissioning fee to have the buggy built in the first place – including all the accessories, design concepts etc...
If I sound pissed-off, it’s because I am. It is, according to MY experience and judgement, such good-intentioned but rankly inefficient people as this - running so-called “professional” businesses in a thoroughly amateur manner - who have given Buggies a bad name in general by being so incredibly “lightweight” in their attitude...
If you, dear Reader disagree, then ask yourself this: if YOU had ordered a buggy, paid a hefty deposit up-front, and then - when the company was patently going belly-up - NOT insisted on a refund - then took delivery to find so much wrong on it - and following which you couldn't even get hold of the company owner, how would YOU have felt...??
Please feel free to contact me at any time on majordom@monaco.net if you would like more information about my own dealings with this company or about the genesis of the IGUANA project and our TV programs’ involvement in its furtherance.
the customer is always right???.........
rocknrob ·
only time i met Brad he spent half an hour of his time in his shop helping me with a wiring problem on my ej22...no charge...i fired it up the next day...cheers Brad👍
newghia ·
Some issues no doubt,
just remember that every story has more than one view / opinion,
many have had very ordinary experiences that have cost a lot of time & money, ( not personally with either party)
take things as you see them, not just what you hear,
Hope things work out for all parties involved.
Brad ·
mmm yawn .. I started reading this post again cause I had quite a few phone calls about it, but my attention span and vocabulary weren't sufficient enough to make it to the end so I skipped straight into writing a response. Did the usual thing and launched in to a character assassination and a he said, they said, we said sort of approach, got bored again so deleted it.
Then a few more phone calls and a couple of sayings came to mind.
There is two sides to every story.
Arguing on the internet is like the Special Olympics; even if you win you are still handicapped.
At the end of the day.... I accept full blame for any issues, what can I say, I suck (ref first saying here).
All dealings where with Iguana Offroad not Custom Offroad / Custom Vee Dub or the new owners. Must have been why I quit, I suck …(Don’t blame the poor suckers who were left standing when the music stopped)
I pissed off over seas and left them in the lurch, once again I must really suck.
Damn Brendan is right, customers are always right, I really really do suck..
Luckily I have enough mates and those people I feel like talking to these days keep my social life and spare time more than occupied enough. So I guess I will just have to avoid the other Billion people who read this forum and now know I am a fraud and do nothing myself and just steal all my ideas from others … damn I thought I had gotten away with it… damn internet ….
Oh and whoever I stole my latest idea of can you please contact me cause I have lost your original drawings you did on the napkins and am afraid I might screw it up if I continue without your input.
Buggy On !!!
Oops I mean Buggy someone else’s Buggy On !!
In case you missed what I was trying to get, damn I forget, someone tell me, I have trouble figuring stuff out on my own..
ancientbugger ·
Wow, it's all fun and games at Aussieveedubbers!!!😀
MickH ·
Hmmm...you can't "suck" that much Brad,otherwise you would have lips like a Negro....and your latest idea you "stole" off me,but I can't remember what it was so if I send you a blank napkin can you fill in all the details..I'll screw up without your input👍😵💫
pod ·
what tv program 🤪🤪❓❓❓❓
frenzix ·
dr phil
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
I was thinking more along the lines of Judge Judy😂😂
Baja Wes ·
So if you buy a new car, and ask for lots of options like driving lights, sunroof, bigger wheels, etc, does that mean it's YOUR car and YOU designed it? I don't think so.
For any fans of American chopper, you will see the customers asked for a lot of things, but in the end the design is very much in the hands of the OCC staff. And even when they get paid hundreds of throusands of dollars to build a simple on-road Harley, they still get teething issues and things that mysteriously won't work. So it's understandable when a much smaller shop tries to build a far more complicated vehicle on a far smaller budget, it's going to take much longer and have more teething problems. Then consider on it's maiden voyage it gets driven thousands of kilometers and thoroughly abused offroad, then of course it's going to have problems. Even professional race teams take their new cars out for shakedown tests and get unexpected problems.
I never saw the owner down at the workshop at ridiculous hours of the morning working on the car. It took a huge amount of effort from Brad and the people he thanked for their help.
It should be remembered it's a one off custom car. I think the owner had unrealistic expectations.
type3kid ·
Well said Wes.
Top work Brad, and great response.
JVLRacing ·
if the customer is not happy......wat is the truth?
guru ·
ahhhhhh..... dealing with the public.
Wasn't like he was going to Maccas and ordering a cheese burger......
Whats this guy's phone number? 😠
StenGuns ·
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH.
(been waiting to say that)
JVLRacing wrote:if the customer is not happy......wat is the truth?
makntracks ·
Hellequin wrote:What a shame, Brad, that you didn't have either the courtesy or kindness to recognise that without this order from ME to build this machine for my TV program, you would never have gotten it to the stage its at now - or even finished!
… Or that what you are now touting as all your own creation is actually MY vehicle with all the amendments that "I" requested and paid for you to develop as required for my shooting needs.
What YOU supplied was the original concept, running gear and usual base-buggy stuff… (Which IS good – otherwise I wouldn’t have ordered it).
However what I supplied you with were all the other design details – such as camo-paintwork, tonneau style and colour, and so many OTHER accessories concepts and finishing details - the light bar, winch requirement etc. etc. (Remember – there IS correspondence to prove this).
What YOU were offering to me originally had only a small percentage of the bling and shutzpah that I commissioned you to create for ME for the purposes of my TV program.
So – credit, please, where credit is due: without my ideas and pushing you to do it - PLUS financing you for the privilege, your “IGUANA” would be a VERY pale version of this current iteration.
What an equal shame that you don't either have the decency to acknowledge my copyright on photography where they have been used.
Finally - for those readers who are interested - and if there is an element of disgust in the following it is purposely so - it should be known that on my taking delivery of this vehicle during April 2007 (after a year + in the making!) - the lights were all wrongly wired, the brakes squealed (with no solution offered), the engine kept cutting out - and no-one knew what the problem was, the Starter Motor packed-in, the exaust pipe fell off the fuel gauge was a joke, the tonneau zips failed and.... WHERE WAS BRAD whenever I tried to call him to get some action...???
NOWHERE. Neither answering his 'phone nor his mails. He’d gone AWOL with no forwarding address.
It took me another THIRTEEN MONTHS after re-delivering it to his workshop in Brisbane in May 2007 before I was able to finally get it in a condition to be driven out.
OK - fairness where fair is due: 9 months of that was "supposedly" because the dossier was in with the QLD. RTA for Type Approval. And then Brad sold out his personal interests in the company - as I hear - to some other people who did what they could.
… And for the record the current asking price of AU$45,000 is only slightly less than what I paid as a commissioning fee to have the buggy built in the first place – including all the accessories, design concepts etc...
If I sound pissed-off, it’s because I am. It is, according to MY experience and judgement, such good-intentioned but rankly inefficient people as this - running so-called “professional” businesses in a thoroughly amateur manner - who have given Buggies a bad name in general by being so incredibly “lightweight” in their attitude...
If you, dear Reader disagree, then ask yourself this: if YOU had ordered a buggy, paid a hefty deposit up-front, and then - when the company was patently going belly-up - NOT insisted on a refund - then took delivery to find so much wrong on it - and following which you couldn't even get hold of the company owner, how would YOU have felt...??
Please feel free to contact me at any time on majordom@monaco.net if you would like more information about my own dealings with this company or about the genesis of the IGUANA project and our TV programs’ involvement in its furtherance.
ha my exaust always used to fall off.
then i figured if you tighten them it doesnt happen.🤖
i know its strange.
ancientbugger ·
Has anyone contacted Hellequin since his post? It would be interesting to read any reply to the comments made so far. I find this all very interesting (probably because I'm an outsider). Just an observation in all this though, if you bought a new car you wouldn't expect to get it delivered such a distance, and considering it was,so to speak, a prototype , it was a pretty good show of confidence by the builders that it was driven down.
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
I thought it was trailered down?
h ·
cool ruckus..
beware of flying pacifyers..
avd da place to be.. 🥲
X-I-TED ·
ancientbugger wrote:Has anyone contacted Hellequin since his post? It would be interesting to read any reply to the comments made so far.
top work hellequin....... almost pissed myself
building a buggy may be futile in comparison to posting your contact but... 😂
can somone get something right
MikeM ·
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE wrote:I thought it was trailered down?
Was driven.
JVLRacing ·
very interesting topic😎
Brad ·
Was driven twice actually, to Sydney both time. That was if you didn;t count the trip to the beach at which stage the owner "Hellequin " requested it was driven through the surf to get good pictures.... and since we already know I suck and can't think for myself I was only to happy to do as I was told.
Now who was asking about warranty ???
Brad ·
rocknrob ·
prototypes...they are ideas put into physical form....geez how many prototypes do GM or Ford or NASA produce before they get it right? and Brad stop saying you suck...you're turning me on!!!!
squizy ·
So with Hellequins logic I can blame Ferdi Porsche for everything that I've ever done to a VW? Cool.
Nice work Brad. You deserve every credit for driving this through to completion and getting this first prototype out. I'm looking forward to seeing a slammed one with some Fuch's.
Brad ·
squizy wrote:I'm looking forward to seeing a slammed one with some Fuch's.
h ·
what tha..
that's the way to wash it squeaky clean
I'd order one if the wash enhanced the corrosion warrantee offered 🙂
crazy notion that marketing ploy 🤪
helbus ·
SS Commodore or Iguana?????? Give me a break, there would be no choice for me.
ancientbugger ·
Again it would be interesting to hear Hellequinns' reply. I know on here we'd definitely be biased towards Brad and all his hardwork that he put in, but a reply at least to bolster his side of the argument would maybe balance things up a bit or completely destroy his credibility. Why say something then disappear without defending yourself.
Hellequin ·
Sorry, People… I was away. Besides which this forum is not exactly on my list of daily watches.
A number of you gentlemen have raised some points that it would seem require an input from my side. So - I’ll try and keep the language simple, the tone neutral and the content as factual as is possible.
- There are – naturally – two sides to every story, and in fairness to Brad I recognise that he did in fact try and satisfy my needs from the start. The issue is not the energy involved but the degree of professionalism with which the project was subsequently undertaken. I believe – obviously it would seem incorrectly? – if one orders something from someone who sets themselves up as being an “expert” in the subject, one should be entitled to certain expectations. So, “Yes” – whilst in “context” these were ultimately more-or-less satisfied – in the “content” of their detail, this is not the case.
- My “complaint” is not that he didn’t “try” – merely that he didn’t “follow-through” – (for whatever undoubtedly, for him, justifiable reasons) - disappearing off the radar as soon as the vehicle was delivered and the real troubles started to make themselves manifest.
- And, by-the-by – for the record – “I” drove the vehicle personally down to Sydney and back. It didn’t go by trailor.
- What should be added – also for the record – is that as a result of my inexpert knowledge of this vehicle (as in 2wd off-road formats) – being far more used to driving 4WD in the Middle Eastern deserts – caused me to actually partially burn out the clutch whilst on the beach north of Newcastle. Duh! And – again – credit where credit is due, Brad provided an excellent lesson in how it “should be done”.
- As for “character assasination” – if I personally hadn’t liked the guy and found his original sincerity absolutely charming, I would never have gone through with this order. Once again, it’s the way it was handled and it’s sequels that caused issues for me.
- I have already written above what I intended to write – and have done so right within Brad’s own Forum – KNOWING full well that he has a support structure here of admirers and friends: NOT because I had an intent to do specific harm but, as with any client who has no way of contacting their supplier and feeling they have a number of specific issues to resolve, letting it be known that all was not hunky-dory - at all. AND because this Forum is the place – it would seem - to do it. So no regrets and no retractions. Merely the tired and bored remains of a once frustrated disappointment.
- For me the incident is closed. I achieved what I intended: namely to have a vehicle that would (a) either form the basis for an original method of transport for my TV series or (b) provide the “start point” for talking with various investors potentially interested in manufacturing a similar-styled, but ORIGINAL, general purpose, low cost (US$25 > 30 k) efficient and reliable vehicle that will “work” and be supported by standard guarantees and a genuine sales / distribution network. The TV series providing the perfect medium for showing it off.
- Within the above context it looks highly likely that a certain international 4wd manufacturer - interested in sponsoring the programme - may very well after all take the concept, throw some real dosh at it through their design department and finish up producing a real car that you may all see on the roads within the foreseeable future and even find available in Oz, fully RTA-compliant and registrable all around the country.
- And – finally – “yes” my Monaco email DOES work. AND I also posted it on purpose – in case anyone was so intellectually challenged as to think I might have dome so erroneously. (As in “by mistake”..?)
- I don’t see myself having any future need for returning to this forum as there is no further point. So I wish you well and am glad if my posts have offered either insights, amusements or opportunities to exercise a sense of ridicule for all concerned J
“Buggy Out!”
newghia ·
Hellequin,
read both your posts with interest.........if you dont return to this forum, maybe you will miss out on potential sales,
How will we know?
Good luck with it anyway,
Noddy.
Baja Wes ·
An international 4WD manufacturer producing a modern cheap bare basics 2WD offroad vehicle?.... ok..... but making it fully compliant, and therefore having sufficient safety parts on it to satisify modern crash test and safety requirements, while still maintaining the light cheap 2WD offroad vehicle? Unlikely I would imagine.
Ford partly tried it with their offroad styled RTV ute with has the on-demand locker rear diff and raised suspension. It wasn't really aimed at offroading, it was more for tradies that didn't want to get bogged on the worksite.
Anyway, it appears there may be other motives involved in the original post. But since Brad no longer works in the industry, I don't see the point of the attempt to tarnish his reputation.
Brad ·
Do you need a reputation to build cool cars ? I hope not cause my garage is full of cool cars and if I have a bad rep they will never get finished and the world will be a sad place .. and now i need to build a 5th wheel type camper for my Iguana Buggy, I hope someone has one I can copy .. anyone ????
Just for the record only 3 Iguana's Bodies where ever made, at this stage only one has been finished and that belongs to Claude aka "Hellequin," the other two should be finished in the year 2020. I was going to get another one finished but can't find anyone willing to tell me how to build it so am going to have to wait until Stu gets old enough to help me out. Until them it is just taking up shed space.
mmm here are some guys I was copying off ...
Damn that is a lot of clay....
Ig anyone knows where these pictures where taken or who these guys are please let me know so I can get them to build my trailer to match the body I didn't make ... with the design I didn;t come up with .
Luckily I snuck this into my pocket before I left the guys shop ..
newghia ·
Great to see you have maintained a healthy sense of humour Brad,
i think it looks cool,
I believe some reputations come attatched to pompas people with no ability to build things themselves or with no hands on ability,
And extreme expectations, oh wait, i dont think he is returning to this forum!!!
i bet he will....only browse invisible, because he really wants to know what people think!
every body seems to like it except him????
build enough cars from scratch & you will understand there will be teething problems.
All manufacturers have vehicle problems / recall's dont they?
StenGuns ·
Awwww.. my post was deleted.. Was it because I used condescending in a sentence?
Baja Wes ·
Admin / moderators should u2u you with the reason for deleting your post.
StenGuns ·
Nahhh.. I'm not that special.. And neither is this pretentious prick..
Baja Wes wrote:Admin / moderators should u2u you with the reason for deleting your post.
subisupa ·
Pretentious wow big words are out now.
hehe.
It looks cool and who buggy's out?
JVLRacing ·
Hellequin wrote:Sorry, People… I was away. Besides which this forum is not exactly on my list of daily watches.
A number of you gentlemen have raised some points that it would seem require an input from my side. So - I’ll try and keep the language simple, the tone neutral and the content as factual as is possible.
- There are – naturally – two sides to every story, and in fairness to Brad I recognise that he did in fact try and satisfy my needs from the start. The issue is not the energy involved but the degree of professionalism with which the project was subsequently undertaken. I believe – obviously it would seem incorrectly? – if one orders something from someone who sets themselves up as being an “expert” in the subject, one should be entitled to certain expectations. So, “Yes” – whilst in “context” these were ultimately more-or-less satisfied – in the “content” of their detail, this is not the case.
- My “complaint” is not that he didn’t “try” – merely that he didn’t “follow-through” – (for whatever undoubtedly, for him, justifiable reasons) - disappearing off the radar as soon as the vehicle was delivered and the real troubles started to make themselves manifest.
- And, by-the-by – for the record – “I” drove the vehicle personally down to Sydney and back. It didn’t go by trailor.
- What should be added – also for the record – is that as a result of my inexpert knowledge of this vehicle (as in 2wd off-road formats) – being far more used to driving 4WD in the Middle Eastern deserts – caused me to actually partially burn out the clutch whilst on the beach north of Newcastle. Duh! And – again – credit where credit is due, Brad provided an excellent lesson in how it “should be done”.
- As for “character assasination” – if I personally hadn’t liked the guy and found his original sincerity absolutely charming, I would never have gone through with this order. Once again, it’s the way it was handled and it’s sequels that caused issues for me.
- I have already written above what I intended to write – and have done so right within Brad’s own Forum – KNOWING full well that he has a support structure here of admirers and friends: NOT because I had an intent to do specific harm but, as with any client who has no way of contacting their supplier and feeling they have a number of specific issues to resolve, letting it be known that all was not hunky-dory - at all. AND because this Forum is the place – it would seem - to do it. So no regrets and no retractions. Merely the tired and bored remains of a once frustrated disappointment.
- For me the incident is closed. I achieved what I intended: namely to have a vehicle that would (a) either form the basis for an original method of transport for my TV series or (b) provide the “start point” for talking with various investors potentially interested in manufacturing a similar-styled, but ORIGINAL, general purpose, low cost (US$25 > 30 k) efficient and reliable vehicle that will “work” and be supported by standard guarantees and a genuine sales / distribution network. The TV series providing the perfect medium for showing it off.
- Within the above context it looks highly likely that a certain international 4wd manufacturer - interested in sponsoring the programme - may very well after all take the concept, throw some real dosh at it through their design department and finish up producing a real car that you may all see on the roads within the foreseeable future and even find available in Oz, fully RTA-compliant and registrable all around the country.
- And – finally – “yes” my Monaco email DOES work. AND I also posted it on purpose – in case anyone was so intellectually challenged as to think I might have dome so erroneously. (As in “by mistake”..?)
- I don’t see myself having any future need for returning to this forum as there is no further point. So I wish you well and am glad if my posts have offered either insights, amusements or opportunities to exercise a sense of ridicule for all concerned J
“Buggy Out!”
mmmwell said!
LIFE IN THE LOW LANE ·
Maybe he has approached Lada in russia to build the Iguana?? then he'll know what problems with build quality are all about.
I used to work for a Lada dealership. A pre delivery inspection on a Lada took nearly 3 days. It included putting a kit through the carby, re kitting the master cylinder and re doing all the brakes, tune up, tightening all door hinges and placing more fasteners in door trims. Plus trying to get all the lights etc working as well.
And Lada was at the time a large car manufacturing company. So my guess is Brad hasn't done too bad with some minor issues with a prototype car.
daz67 ·
My New Nissan Patrol spat it's turbo after 1200klm's and the owner of Nissan was no where to be found either!
Brad are you involved with Nissan by chance?
Brad ·
daz67 wrote:My New Nissan Patrol spat it's turbo after 1200klm's and the owner of Nissan was no where to be found either!
Brad are you involved with Nissan by chance?
I was going to buy a Nissan but from memory I was on the phone with you when I was placing my order and you told me about your Turbo, hey you don;t want an Iguana do you ?
As for the people sending me PM's and emails and trying to get a response .. if you are dumb enough to think I am going to get into an arguement on a forum about this then you are dumb enough to take everything this guy is saying as fact so your mind is already made up.
All you need to know is that I no longer have anything to do with Custom Offroad / Custom Vee Dub and one of the main reasons I left is because I HATE CUSTOMERS. Now you can read into that what you will but at the end of the day I really do HATE THEM ... they are nothing but a PITA and always want everything for nothing and just spew pure BULL SH&T from the moment they walk in to the moment they die 50 years later. Yes there are a few good ones but you end up dicking them around whilst trying to control the bad ones. It just isn't worth the time and effort and I wasn't cut out for customer service because I HATE CUSTOMERS.
Either way as I have said before and I will say again, the dealings with this guy where all mine and do not reflect Custom Vee Dub in any way. I would hate to see them get a bad rep from something I did or did not do. There was more than 10 guys involved in building the Iguana in question and I am pretty close to certain that everyone of them is 100% aware of exactly who was causeing all the issues in relation to this buggy...
I had Buggies long before Custom Offroad and funnily enough I will have them long after. As luck would have it I now have an Iguana, first one out of the mould in fact and as I know who did what and who's ideas where who's I will be driving it for many many years to come with a grin from ear to ear and found memories of the many many many days and nights that were spent building a dream, not stealing some CUSTOMERS ideas.
Anyway I have said enough on this topic and have nothing further to add, feel free to chat amoungst yourselves as I will not be deleteing or clossing it.